so i’m back for some guidance. i have a MS in Finance from a lower-tier university (i know i know, it ain’t good) but right now i’m working at a bulge bracket bank but in back-office operations. again, it’s not ideal. i hear that the market is heating up but i haven’t gotten any calls or offers coming up lately so im a little angry/intimidated/nervous. i’m trying to go the equity research route but it definitely seems like an industry that’s pretty hard to get into. my current firm has an SS ER dvisiion but going from ops to that is almost nearly impossible - even with passing level 1 and being a level 2 candidate.
i’ve applied to a few research assistent career opportunities and haven’t heard back either. applied to countless buy side and sell side research of all ranks. applied to both private wealth and institutional side. double-checked my resume for errors. I had 5 highly-qualified people critize my resume and it seems pretty much spot-on. before this i interned at another budge-bracket bank for almost a year. before that i was the head of a buy-side investment team for my university’s endowment fund.
I’m also 27 so maybe i’m thinking i’ve missed the equity research train?
at 27, you haven’t missed the train, but the train is kinda pulling away a bit. where have you heard the market is heating up? it’s better than 2008, but its still nowhere like 2006.
You need to network or get a top MBA for access to OCR.
I came from the middle office to recently start in ER at a large buyside shop; I had passed all 3 CFA exams, and have a MSF from a mid tier school; I also had no errors in my resume but honestly while this stuff helped me, the CFA more than the other 2, they all are about worthless without me networking. So many people have passed levels of the CFA and have non elite grad school degrees without front office experience.
I was introduced to a current analyst, I met with him and he was impressed with me so he passed my resume to his MD and I was able to get an interview. Multiple interviews and 2 months later I got an offer, I was told they received over 100 resumes, brought in 30 people for initial screenings. I had been networking for this move for over a year, so before each person interviewed me I was able to have someone else in the department personally vouch for me to the interviewer.
Without networking I wouldn’t have got the job with or without passing all 3 exams and having a MSF.
A question you need to be able to answer is why should they hire you over the 100s/1000s of other people who are taking the CFA exams and trying to break in to equity research from the back office. Why should they hire you instead of an undergrad fresh out of the ivy league? If your answer is because you passed level 1 and have a MSF that isn’t going to work.
Are you just cold applying on companies websites? If so that is probably a waste of time.
I am also 27.
I work with people from BB banks, people do move from operations to equity research; it isn’t common or easy but it happens, and the common denominator with everyone who has done it is they networked their way in to the role, they didnt apply online.
Very good point guys. I appreciate your comments and it all does make sense.
Since I don’t have an MBA at all at the moment and currently working on the CFA designation, I believe networking will be key for me. My plans are to start at a boutique shop for buy-side ER more likely in a private wealth and work my way up in experience.
I’ve been applying quite a bit. Of all kinds of places really - some with my friends that in the business as references and some as just walk-in cold applications. Big firms, small firms, buy side, sell side. Unfortunately, in my current role my exposure to any front office (with the exception of a few trades) is the limit. I don’t even have the chance to dabble in ER with my current positioning being so low down the totum-pole.
Do you guys recommend calling the HR of places of interest for me? I’ve been targeting a few smaller boutique shops local to me but have recently dumped the idea of making calls because they might think i’m annoying for calling. Let me know. Thanks for the input.
As far as the market heating up, I’ve read a few articles not only on here but on other forums of members landing decent opportunities. Also a few of my undergrad friends (not top-tier university) were able to land decent mid-office gigs so i guess that’s where my consensus started from. Thanks.
You know, if I was desperate for an ER gig, I’d consider just writing up a flipping awesome report, printing it off on some high end paper, stapling my resume to the back and couriering it to the attention of every BSD in town. The front office chiefs around here can weigh in on whether this is a complete waste of time as well, but tht’s just what I’d do based on the little I know.
I mean, if I wasn’t getting results any other way and I was steadfast committed to getting an ER spot… hell, you’ve got to take some risk.
i was actually contemplating the exact thing. back in the day i’ve done quite a few reports on both technical and fundamental analysis on a few publicly traded companies. good advice. will take! thanks!
and no, sell-side ER is not dead…don’t ever say that =/
If you want to get into ER you really need to tap your local CFA Chapter. You can’t just apply to a position and hope for the best because your resume is ending up on a pile of other resumes and will eventually end up in the trash. Network buddy
^ agree. And those high on the feed list that do go to conferences and events, tend to not want to be bombarded by overzealous new folks who want to network.
^ Yeah, I’ve been to a couple of NYSSA events and I hate to say it, but anyone that had a front office job was being swarmed by job-seekers like bees around a hive. It was depressing. I’ve since stopped going to those events.
I went to a local CFA event in London around December last year. It’s true, the place was teeming with job seekers, fresh graduates or aspiring ER analysts (me).
But you need to figure out how to stand out from the crowd in one way or another. From my experience, these events are aimed to help people build and expand networks, especially those with little exposure to the front office.
To cut the long story short, I got on really well with someone else looking for a FO job (non ER), and they turned out to become a really good friend. About a couple of months after the event they told me about a contact of a contact, who was looking to train up an aspiring equity analyst with my non FO background. The rest is history. As I mentioned in another post I am 30+ so I don’t think 27 is at all too late to make a career transition.
I realised that working in BO at an asset manager was career suicide and urgent action needed to be taken. I was advised that it’s probably more useful to work in a finance role within a commercial company rather than in a financial institution, as you would acquire the requisite sector knowledge which ER recruiters desire. Sounded good in theory, at least…
This is definitely not a ‘gloat post’, but I do think you can achieve your career goal with persistence, thinking outside the box and the ultimate belief that it WILL happen at some point…not easy, I know…
It’s not limited to association events. I learned the hard way to stfu when at the exam testing center. Sitting at the table before the L2 test began last June, the guy next to me starts idle chit-chat. Work came up and it slipped I was on the desk at a HF. I’d say half of the people in the 8 tables around us turned heads and perked up. I swear, it was like those old commericals where everyone is doing thier own thing, then the girl says “E.F. Hutton” and everyone shuts up and stares at her to listen.
People actually followed me to my car to talk to me after the exam… literally waited to hand in thier exam at the same time as me so they can walk out with me. Creepy.
When I take L3 in June, I’m not saying a damn word.
i would imagine that gets old…you’ve constantly seen the same “person” repeatedly…same story = same person…but then what advice would you give to someone trying to network…basically on this forum you’re saying we’re tired of people who havent made it in trying to get in, so we will stop talking or attending…what do you recommend people do that dont come from the desired path?